Videl and the Punch Machine
by FenrisUlf
Summary: Gohan and Videl are waiting to use the Punch Machine so they can qualify for the World Martial Arts Tournament. Can Gohan convince Videl that her high score is not a fluke?


**Videl and the Punch Machine**

By Fenris Ulf

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Summary: In the original DragonBall Z, this scene was never shown, but it should have taken place. Videl and Gohan are anxiously waiting in line to use the Punch Machine and qualify for the World's Martial Arts Championship in time to watch Goten and Trunks battle during the final match of the Junior Division. Gohan, of course, is much stronger than most of the participants, including Hercule Satan. At the same time (though she doesn't realize it) Videl is also much stronger than her father. Here's how I imagined that it played out.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonball Z nor any of the characters depicted. This is a work of fanfiction and I make no profit from it.

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"Number 101," the announcer declared.

A stocky man wearing a dark, purple gym outfit and sporting a mustache and beard stepped out of the line and walked over to the machine. The attention of the crowd was directed at the large, padded surface on the front, and on the tiny display on top. The man clenched his fists, took a deep breath and gazed with laser-like focus on that padded surface. He then drew his arm back and snapped it forward, his fist impacting the target area with the sound of flesh meeting leather.

The numbers on the display danced around for a few seconds before the clanging of a bell announced that it had calculated his force.

"Eighty-seven points," the announcer declared. A man in orange robes wrote this number down on a chalkboard. The man in purple walked away, looking somewhat dejected.

"Next is Number 102."

"I guess that's me," Gohan said to Videl, giving her a confident grin. "Finally."

Gohan jogged forward, the sounds of the arena could be heard and he was eager to qualify and watch his little brother in action.

Videl watched as he approached the machine. Her eyes narrowed in speculation. Instead of gearing up to launch the most powerful attack he could to guarantee a spot in the tournament, he inched towards the target, his arms held ridiculously close to his body. It was obvious that any such blow would be almost completely without power. It was a punch much like the ones his father and his friends did. The only thing that kept them from being retested was when the one called Vegeta destroyed the punch machine with a single blow.

Her suspicions were confirmed as he settled on striking out at extremely short range. Ordinarily, such a punch wouldn't have any force behind it at all.

The numbers on the display danced around a little before they settled on a score.

"A hundred and ninety-five points?" the announcer said incredulously. He then composed himself and glared at Gohan. "Young man, have you done anything to this machine? I warn you, trying to cheat will only cause trouble."

Gohan waved his hands in automatic protest. "I didn't do anything. I can try that again if you want to."

Videl sighed. "That's enough. The rest of us are trying to qualify here. Just write down his score."

"Miss Satan, you may be the Champion's daughter, but rules are rules. This qualifier must be fair and square."

"Look, I'll go next and you'll see that there's nothing wrong with this machine."

The announcer frowned. "Very well."

Videl stepped up to the machine. She never noticed that the orange-robed monk was dutifully writing down Gohan's score. She took a few deep breaths to prep herself. As she did so, she could feel her energy building up and coming back down in time with her breath. As she had during her flying lessons with Gohan, she felt as if learning how to do so brought her to the edge of a new world where flying was just the tip of the iceberg. Images of Gohan as the Great Saiyaman (and she would have to ask him where the heck that name came from) lifting buses and moving so fast he disappeared in a blur came unbidden. She remembered the first day of flying lessons where Goten blasted a small hill with his energy. Would she be able to do the same with a little practice?

She shook her head and ignored the building energy in her body. All she had to do was follow her usual routine and deliver the best punch she could to qualify for the Tournament. All that other stuff could wait for later.

"KiYa!" she shouted out as she began moving. She put her entire body into this punch, stepping forward with her feet, twisting her waist, leaning forward with her torso and twisting her wrist to get the most powerful blow she could. It all cumulated in a split second as her fist contacted the plate.

Instead of merely hearing the sound of leather, the sound of the punch machine's pneumatics whining was also briefly heard. No one paid this any mind as the numbers for the display danced around.

As the bell sounded, you could almost hear the sounds of jaws dropping.

"Wha…? Three-hundred and twenty-six?" Videl said, looking at the display.

It seemed impossible to get a number that high without a malfunction.

"Maybe the machine is still broken," she said to herself.

"Oh, no. Not again!" said one of the monks that had been calibrating the machine.

"No, wait!" Gohan said. "The machine is working fine. There's no need to do anything else."

"But, Gohan," Videl said to him. "There's no way that I can score that high. My Dad..."

"Look, I'll prove that the machine is working perfectly." He stood up straight and took a quick look around. "I know I saw one of them..." he muttered. "Ah, ha!"

He dashed over to a slender man wearing purple shorts and boxing gloves. "You, sir. You've already qualified, haven't you?"

"Yeah. That's right. What of it?"

"Step right this way."

"Wait a sec..." he said as Gohan shoved him in front of the punch machine.

"What's this all about?" asked the announcer.

"Its simple. This man has already qualified, which means that you have his original score recorded. He'll just punch the machine again and he should get a similar score. If he does, that means that this machine is in perfect, working order."

The announcer nodded. "That's a sound argument. If you wouldn't mind, sir; we really need to know."

The boxer sighed. "All right. I'll do it."

Just like before, he faced the machine. He took a short breath before moving with his favorite move: the forward jab. The numbers danced around on the display, finally showing a "99."

"What was his original score?" the announcer asked.

"It was a '98.'"

"I see. Then that's settled. The scores of all the contestants, including the Great Saiyaman and Videl Satan, are legal. The machine is working properly and we need to get all these people qualified."

"Thank you, sir."

"No, no. Thank _you. _If you hadn't thought of that, we might have been fixing a perfectly working machine until the cows came home."

"Come on, Videl. We're missing the match."

"But Gohan!" she said to him, putting on the brakes. "There's no way my own score could be that high. And your own score... And..."

"Videl, I just proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that the machine is in perfect working order. You should just relax and watch Goten's match with me."

Videl gaped at him for a moment. Usually, Gohan was quiet and reserved. He didn't usually sound so confident. Even as the Great Saiyaman, it tended to sound a little phony. Something about his confident statement made her heart flutter.

"Okay," she said to him.

"All right!" he said, his usual boyish enthusiasm back. "Let's go! I don't want to miss any more of this," he said.

"Right," Videl said, almost to herself as she ran after him.


End file.
